Saturday, February 01, 2014

And since the Japanese ace probably has enough adjustments to make in a new league and a new country without worrying about his visa application, the club called New York Senator Chuck Schumer to see if Sen. Schumer could help make sure the paperwork was done properly.

“My office works tirelessly to help constituents every single day, but it’s not often you get a call from a constituent like the New York Yankees,” Schumer said. “You see, the Yankees called me a couple of days ago to say they were worried about Masahiro Tanaka getting to spring training on time due to the length of time it can take for foreign players to get a visa.

“Foreign baseball players apply for something called a P-visa and the whole process can take up to a month; but with pitchers and catchers reporting on February 14th, it was very possible he wasn’t going to make it. So I made sure we had someone go to the mailroom at USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), pull his application and get it processed quickly - something I have done in the past for the Mets as well, when they had a similar issue with Jose Reyes.”

...“Now the Yankees’ star free agent will be able to join the team at spring training with everyone else,” Schumer said. “As a lifelong Yankee fan who is hoping for another World Series this year, I could not be happier.”

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One time when I needed help dealing with the federal government, I called Schumer's office. They were incredibly helpful and basically expedited a process that would've taken 6 months to a few weeks. I later learned that its one of his points of pride to have a well-staffed office for this sort of thing. I can tell you it earned a lifetime vote from this Republican. I urge any New Yorker here who has an issue with the federal government to at least try his office; it can't hurt.

Schumer wasn't quite seven years old when the Dodgers left Brooklyn, and was eleven when the Mets played their first game. The Yankees were the only game in town during his prime "become a baseball fan" years.

Of course, that's not to say that the "lifelong Yankee fan" bit isn't BS. He is a politician after all.

One time when I needed help dealing with the federal government, I called Schumer's office. They were incredibly helpful and basically expedited a process that would've taken 6 months to a few weeks. I later learned that its one of his points of pride to have a well-staffed office for this sort of thing. I can tell you it earned a lifetime vote from this Republican. I urge any New Yorker here who has an issue with the federal government to at least try his office; it can't hurt.

Sometimes I think the system is setup that way on purpose: make dealing with the federal bureaucracy incredibly difficult without the aid of your senator or congressman; then it becomes incredibly easy, thus generating goodwill for said legislator. I had a situation where I went round and round with the VA over GI Bill benefits that were pre-approved before I ever enrolled in the training. After almost a year of no communication, mis communication, or outright denial for trivial typos or non-essential missing information, I wrote my congressman. Within 2 weeks I had a check and an apology from the head of the VA. At first I was incredibly grateful to my congressman, but then the cynic in me started to think that the system is designed to be that way, so that some elected official gets credit for providing benefits already guaranteed by law.

I had a nasty visa/immigration issue with a foreign country a few years ago. Wrote letters to two senators and my congresswoman. Only Paul Sarbanes' (D-MD) office was help. They made a phone call and the issue was instantaneously resolved. Sarbanes son, now a congressman, seems like a good dude, too.

“Foreign baseball players apply for something called a P-visa and the whole process can take up to a month; but with pitchers and catchers reporting on February 14th, it was very possible he wasn’t going to make it. So I made sure we had someone go to the mailroom at USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services), pull his application and get it processed quickly - something I have done in the past for the Mets as well, when they had a similar issue with Jose Reyes.”

When I handled immigration issues, including much of the related visa casework, for my boss way back when, I was often reminded that you could not move people to the "front of the line," which would be seriously improper. What you were expected to do was ensure that the Member of Congress was concerned about the visa application in question and that it better not get lost, ignored, or turned down without good reason.

One time when I needed help dealing with the federal government, I called Schumer's office. They were incredibly helpful and basically expedited a process that would've taken 6 months to a few weeks. I later learned that its one of his points of pride to have a well-staffed office for this sort of thing. I can tell you it earned a lifetime vote from this Republican. I urge any New Yorker here who has an issue with the federal government to at least try his office; it can't hurt.

One of the smartest things Schumer has done in the Senate is to emulate the fabled constitutent services agenda of his predecessor, Al D'Amato.

amusement
i see none of you got sheila jackson lee as a congressperson (she is famous/infamous for not gettin nothin done for nobody who didn't give her $$$ or is not Black)

i wonder if you were just an ordinary poor person or a poor person of color or a poor person who didn't have/wasn't an expensive lawyer and wanted to get your parents of color here from whatever country you came from if you would get any response at all from that politician.

Schumer is a bumped-up political hack IMO. The most infamous Schumer story:

http://nypost.com/2003/10/21/senators-stunning-silence/

In the wake of the deadly [11 passengers dead, 70 injured] Staten Island Ferry crash last week, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer – who frequently call for government investigations into all sorts of matters – have said little of substance about the accident.

Political observers in Washington note that could be because Schumer is in a delicate position since his wife, Iris Weinshall, is commissioner of the city Department of Transportation, which oversees the ferries.

Clinton may also be reluctant to put any heat on an agency headed by her senior colleague’s wife, observers say.

Both Schumer and Clinton have offered condolences to the victims’ families and are working to secure money to rebuild the ferry and terminal – but haven’t pressed a host of other issues related to the accident, such as licensing requirements, government oversight, pilot training and inspections.

By contrast, Clinton and Schumer are often first out of the gate issuing critical statements about a variety of matters.

For decades, the conventional wisdom in Washngton DC has been that the most dangerous place to be is between Chuck Schumer and a TV camera. He's a seriously self-promoting media hound, but that isn't necessarily bad for an ambitious politician.

Senator for the little guy (the other 99%) helps a 1% person get to his 1% team. What a hypocrite. Special rules for the 1%? you bet; just don't complain about it, if you are going to do things such as this.

I hate to see stories about politicians cutting red tape on behalf of their constituents. Isn't the red tape there for a good reason? If not, why not get rid of it for everyone. And if it is, why give one person favorable treatment just because they happen to be complaining. How about equal treatment for all?